Raspet lead addresses committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Challenges surrounding the integration of emerging unmanned technologies into the National Airspace System led one Mississippi State University administrator to Capitol Hill on May 8. Dallas Brooks, director of MSU’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, joined an elite group of national experts and officials testifying May 8 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s hearing entitled “New Entrants in the National Airspace: Policy, Technology and Security Issues for Congress.” Its focus was the current state of the National Airspace System’s (NAS) status of integration efforts by the Federal Aviation Administration. The hearing was convened by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the SCC. The hearing held a recurring theme of successes, and suggestions for future enhancements while regulators make decisions about the safety of the nation’s airspace. Addressing the committee, Brooks testified it is these members’ leadership that can make a difference in the speed in which research is conducted to gather innovative data to continue UAS safety improvements and integration into the atmosphere. He also pointed out that recent FAA policy now mandates department-level review, making the timeframe six times longer for approval of UAS Center of Excellence research. “Such reviews add no discernable value, add complexity to the grant process, and slow the timeframe of approval from a few weeks to many months,” he said. Following the model of the UAS Center of Excellence and the UAS Science and Research Panel “our nation’s government can achieve more in less time, and more safely, than ever before,” he claimed. (Source: MSU 05/08/19)